Reek (Ratfolk)
__TOC__ As the Old races recovered from the cataclysm of the Progenitors and the New races ascended, the reek emerged from the Under Realms. A nomadic race of rodent people, no-one knew where the reek had come from, not even themselves. Despite this, soon after the disappearance of the Progenitors, the reek began travelling the pathways of the Under Realms and emerging out into the surface world. Consummate traders and tinkerers, the reek organise in nomadic family units known as caravans. As a subterranean race, the reek have the closest relations with the dwarves, but a lesser extent most of the other races of the Under Realms, including deep elves, svirfneblin, kobolds, and weirder folk. As benefitting their travelling lifestyle, reek are natural traders, often solely facilitating the functioning of the subterranean economy. Reek are also found on the surface, often in their own packed enclaves in the cities of others. Often viewed suspiciously by others due to their voracious appetites, criminal tendencies and secretive natures, these settled reek are often indispensable workforces for their adopted homelands. Physical Description The reek are a race of humanoid rodents. Reek have a hunched, rodent-like posture, usually standing around four foot tall and half the weight of an adult human. Their hands and feet are long and tipped by small claws, and each reek has a long, semi-prehensile tail. Covered in soft fur on their bodies, reek colouration generally tends to the dark browns and blacks, but occasionally exhibit lighter tones all the way to pure white. Society Primarily a nomadic society, the reek congregate in extended family units known as caravans. Travelling the roadways and passages of the Under Realms, and to a lesser extent, the surface, these caravans wander between cities, trading wares, selling services, and engaging in petty crime, as preferenced by the caravan in question. The caravans of reek society are the default family units of the race. While many, if not most, members of a caravan will be related by blood, those who join the caravan will take the caravan’s name as their family name. Membership in caravans are fairly laissez faire, with new members joining or leaving the caravan as it travels from settlement to settlement. After the caravans, the second largest population of reek are found in the cities of other races. Primarily in dwarven or human cities, these settled reek live in packed slums. Generally more welcome in dwarven cities than human, settled reek still find a measure of discrimination, due to high birth rates, packed living conditions, and criminal proclivities. However, the usefulness of reek as labourers, merchants and alchemists generally outweighs those downsides. Finally, there are rumours of entire reek cities, existing in the Under Realms amongst the roots of mountains or in subterranean marshlands, but these rumours are rarely verified. Relations Nomadic reek travel the length and breadth of Chimyrr, both above and below the ground - there are few races and species that the reek do not interact with. Below the surface the reek mostly deal with the dwarves, and above ground they travel between the cities of humans, elves and trolls. However, due to their value as traders the reek often trade with other, more dangerous races - most caravans can safely approach gnoll settlements, kobold warrens, troglodyte nests, and stranger settlements still. Those who prey on reek caravans swiftly get identified, and then avoided - or worse, hunted down. Settled reek dwell in the cities of other races - primarily those of the dwarves and the humans, but reek slums can be found in the settlements of many other races. While reek can be viewed with suspicion or worse due to their proclivities, they often prove themselves useful enough to avoid expulsion. Generally, the reek tend to fall into the same social strata and general acceptance as a settlement’s halfling population. Alignment and Religion As a race that values individuality and self-reliance, reek tend to be more Chaotic than Lawful. Though this tendency is tempered by the reliance the reek have on their family groups, be they in travelling caravans or amongst the settled reek of the cities. Reek have little in the way of native religion and no reek specific pantheon. Reek worship of the divine is generally directed towards the elemental planes, and supplication to whichever god is most directly associated with what a given reek is concerned with at a time. Settled reek however have closer relationships with organised religion, and can be found joining established churches in the cities they live in. Adventurers Reek adventurers are often those youths who find boredom even in the transient life of the caravans, and strike off to earn their own fortunes. This often happens when an individual reek’s curiosity as to how other races live outweighs its connection to its caravan. This sometimes occurs in reverse; reek from the slums of dwarven or human cities will develop wanderlust, and leave their settled life behind. Regardless of origin, reek adventurers are highly prized by some, due to their small stature, and natural skill at delicate activities - be they criminal, alchemical, or otherwise. Racial Modification * Ability Score Racial Traits: Reek gain -2 Str, +2 Dex, and +2 Int. * Type: Reek are humanoids with the reek subtype. * Size: Reek are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. * Speed: Reek have a base speed of 20 feet. * Languages: Reek begin play speaking Common and Reek. Reek with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven or Undercommon * Skill Bonus: Reek have a +2 racial bonus on any single Craft skill, Perception, and Use Magic Device checks. * Swarming: Reek are used to living and fighting communally with others of their kind. Up to two reek can share the same square at the same time. If two reek that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. * Darkvision: Reek can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Classes Alchemist: While it was dwarves who first developed the arcane sciences of alchemy, it was the reek who refined them into their own discipline. Reek show a natural racial aptitude for alchemy, which sometimes arises self-taught. Most caravans have an alchemist or two and their apprentices who fulfill the caravan’s need for magic, while many dwarven and human arcane universities have reek alchemical faculty. Barbarian: Reek physiology relies on an extremely fast metabolism. Where for most this simply results in frequent eating and constant activity, there are those who can use their hyperactive metabolisms to enter mindless frenzies. These are the barbarians of the reek. Born as chance combinations of heredity, reek barbarians are relatively rare, but those who survive to adulthood become furious protectors of their kin. Some will strike out of their own accord to prove themselves - this happens more with settled reek than caravan reek. Bard: Reek bards form the cultural backbone of their extended families, keeping the oral history, songs and traditions of the caravan safe for the next generation. Specialising in oratory and poetry, the bards are often the teachers of the caravans, raising reek young and teaching them the necessary skills and knowledge. The bards also support the caravans in combat, bolstering the warriors with morale support and their spellcasting abilities. Cavalier: Amongst the reek, cavaliers come from one of two sources. The first are those from the caravans, who take up the cavalier orders to protect their brethrens. These reek cavaliers, mounted on ponies or war dogs, will join travelling reek in their journeys to protect them from outside depredations - often leaving and joining many different caravans over the course of their lives. The second are those settled reek who, like reek paladins, show the natural aptitude and drive, and join the cavalier orders of their homes. Cleric: Nomadic reek have little in the way of organised religion - some larger caravans may travel with shrines to Jherric or Mathas - so reek clerics who are encountered as part of caravans are mostly devoted to the elemental planes, or other naturalistic shamanistic paths. In the cities, settled reek will follow the general religious behaviours of their neighbours, some even hearing their calling to the clergy and joining the church themselves. Druid: Those reek with independent streaks who do not find home within the caravan will sometimes strike off into the wild by themselves. Those with a connection to the lands of the wild will sometimes find the way of the druid, learning the magic of the divinity of nature. Most reek druids live in the Under Realms, claiming caverns or subterranean river systems. These subterranean druid will often develop bonds with the endemic flora and fauna of the underground, learning to speak with fungi, vermin, and the various oozes and slimes of the underground. Fighter: Travelling the distances between settlements on their own, most reek caravans need to see to their own protection. Reek fighters, while not common, are required enough that a few members of every caravan learn to be warriors. While not physically imposing on their own, reek naturally learn to fight with others, and groups of reek fighters naturally gravitate towards styles that complement one another so that they can collectively take down foes much larger and more dangerous than they are one on one. As benefits their size and nimbleness, most reek specialise in light and small weapons, or close-ranged ranged weaponry. Inquisitor: Lacking organised religion within the caravans, the majority of reek inquisitors come from settled reek. Those reek living in the cities of others can hear the call to join the various churches, and some institutions see the natural aptitudes reek possess that can aid in the hunting down of enemies of the faith. Magus: Those reek who enter arcane academies to learn the path of the wizard, some desire to leave esoteric study behind in favour for mastering more direct application of magic, pairing it with martial prowess. Those who feel this way follow the path of the magus, often using their structured learning as the foundation for their own studies. Many of these warrior-mages return to reek society, using their disparate disciplines in the protection and furtherment of their own people. Monk: While not common, there are occasions where reek with the temperament and drive will leave reek society to join the monastic orders. While not as physically imposing as other races, the reek who study the martial paths often combine their natural talents of stealth and dexterity to become accomplished assassins, and other examples of monks specialising in deception and subterfuge. Oracle: Despite the rarity of clerics in reek caravans, this does not the reek do not have access to divine magic. Receiving their gifts (and curses) from groups of patrons including elemental lords, nature spirits, dwarven gods, and otherwise, these reek oracles tend to the health and safety of caravans. While fairly common, oracles tend to occur in caravans that find themselves without suitable support, and often oracles will leave caravans to join others - sometimes caravans meeting up will “trade” oracles. Paladin: Reek paladins are an extreme rarity. Lacking structured, hierarchical order in their own societies, reek paladins invariably come from those raised entirely in another culture - mostly dwarven, but sometimes human. Where those few reek who possess the natural discipline and will required for paladinhood are raised by those of the appropriate faiths, very occasionally a reek paladin can occur. Their lives are generally then much like those of their paladin brethren. Ranger: Like those reek who leave the caravans to become druids, some reek leave their extended families to live in the wilds by themselves. Living between the caravans, these reek become rangers, learning how to survive in the wilds between civilisation. Reek rangers will often either remain in a general area, or travel on paths determined by their own whims, joining other caravans as their travels coincide. Rogue: Reek make superb rogues as often as they do alchemists. Small of stature but dexterous and nimble, reek who turn to the life of the rogue find themselves ideally suited. Many reek of the cities turn to lives of crime, able to run rooftops or the sewers as needs dictate. Those of the caravans generally become the tinkers and engineers of their extended families, where their skills come in handy working out new finds, scouting paths, dealing with traps, and the like. Of course, once the caravans reach a new settlement, they can be just as larcenous as their settled kin. Sorcerer: Due to the extended nature of reek families, and how common and frequent reek leaving and joining caravans is, bloodlines are mixed within the reek race far and wide. This includes sorcerous bloodlines. Seemingly arising without rhyme or reason, reek will begin displaying sorcerous power with little in their immediate histories to explain them or the type of bloodline which crops up. Nevertheless, reek sorcerers are highly valued in the caravans, and depending on their individual powers and skills, can often rise to respected positions of power. Summoner: Perhaps due to the natural reek tendency to gather in groups, reek tend to be natural summoners. Just as often bonding with a group of eidolons than a single being, reek summons often specialise in summoning hordes and swarms of planar beings, playing to the reek natural aptitude for close-in, crowded fighting. Whether they’re found in caravans for amongst settled reek, reek summons are tenacious defenders of their people. Witch: In those caravans who travel in the remote areas of the Under Realms or the surface, perhaps even delving deep into the Great Below, the lack of contact with established societies often leaves the caravans lacking in spellcasters. In the isolated, dark places those reek may be “approached” by strange, mysterious patrons, and offered power in exchange for service. As such, reek witches tend to come from those caravans that are more isolated than most, and much are stranger than more “cosmopolitan” reek. Wizard: Due to their nomadic nature or, in the case of settled reek, tendency to live at the behest of other races in their cities, the reek do not have wizardly disciplines of their own. However, due to their close relationships with dwarves and humans, many reek that show skill at the arcane arts join the arcane learning institutions of their neighbours. Their natural intellects make them suited to rigorous study, and those reek who do manage to find arcane instruction can become very adept wizards. Category:Races